Public health director vs wellness director

The differences between public health directors and wellness directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a public health director and a wellness director. Additionally, a public health director has an average salary of $85,569, which is higher than the $73,888 average annual salary of a wellness director.

The top three skills for a public health director include community health, public health and public health programs. The most important skills for a wellness director are quality care, home health, and direct supervision.

Public health director vs wellness director overview

	Public Health Director	Wellness Director
Yearly salary	$85,569	$73,888
Hourly rate	$41.14	$35.52
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	75,124	31,522
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a public health director do?

Public affairs specialists, also called media or communication specialists, are responsible for communicating with the public on behalf of an individual, company, government, or politicians. This role will require you to perform various tasks including creating press kit materials, such as images, press releases, and pitch letters for media outlets, maintaining the reputation and identity of the client or employer, and evaluating clients' public opinion through polls, social media listening, and surveys. In addition, public affairs specialists are responsible for evaluating promotional and advertising programs.

What does a wellness director do?

Typically working at gyms and health centers, a wellness coordinator utilizes their health and fitness expertise by designing and developing health programs involving workout and diet plans. Among their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify the clients' needs, gathering and analyzing information to determine the strengths and weaknesses of current programs, and implementing solutions against problem areas. They must also liaise with internal and external parties, coordinate staff, and develop strategies to optimize program operations, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction.

Public health director vs wellness director salary

Public health directors and wellness directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Health Director	Wellness Director
Average salary	$85,569	$73,888
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $131,000	Between $42,000 And $127,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Hartford, CT
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Connecticut
Best paying company	Jefferson County Health Center	Emma Willard School
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between public health director and wellness director education

There are a few differences between a public health director and a wellness director in terms of educational background:

	Public Health Director	Wellness Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Public health director vs wellness director demographics

Here are the differences between public health directors' and wellness directors' demographics:

	Public Health Director	Wellness Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%	Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.7% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public health director and wellness director duties and responsibilities

Public health director example responsibilities.

Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
Provide continuing medical education with HIV and TB specialists on the prevention and control of HIV and TB.
Provide oversight for communicable disease surveillance, investigation and control, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness.
Position demand expertise in grant oversight, strategic project planning, program management, and stakeholder collaboration.
Provide clinical exercise physiology services and health/wellness counseling for family practice/sports medicine/orthopedics medical group effecting positive lifestyle changes in patients serve.
Conduct and implement group WIC orientation emphasizing WIC benefits.

Wellness director example responsibilities.

Manage resident and facility accounts, budgets, social security applications, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Provide staff training and oversight on medication administration and direct patient care.
Provide oversight to ensure appropriate infection control procedures are follow by staff.
Assist in keeping key staff in compliance with CPR certification.
Implement disease management programs for hypertension, diabetes and back injuries.
Process payroll, hire, dismiss, and education to staff.

Public health director vs wellness director skills

Common public health director skills

Community Health, 15%
Public Health, 10%
Public Health Programs, 8%
Public Health Issues, 6%
Health Education, 5%
Medicaid, 5%

Common wellness director skills

Quality Care, 15%
Home Health, 14%
Direct Supervision, 14%
CPR, 7%
State Regulations, 6%
Oversight, 6%

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Public Health Director
Public Health Director vs Wellness Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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